Previous inventions addressed the problems of automatically tinning components supplied mounted on long tapes and on spools or reels. In Marshall, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,084 the use of apparatus which first removes components from the tape then tins the lead by moving the component in a vertical orientation through a series of stations and finally applying a new tape is taught.
In Benson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,430, which was also assigned to the instant assignee, apparatus was described which can tin components without the necessity of first removing them from their connecting tape. This previous patent did not address the problem of tinning components of different size or lead length. In addition, no provision was made to adjust the height individually of the foam applied to the two leads. This often resulted in flux being applied to either the component body proper or to the connecting tape which degrades the storage characteristics of the components. The vacuum on the port removing the solder "icicles" from the tinned wire is quite close to the tape and will occasionally pull the tape against the port. Since the port is at an elevated temperature when this occurs the tape will become charred and unusable. The vacuum line connecting the port to the collection jar is essentially horizontal which sometimes permits the molten solder to solidify in the line and block the vacuum line. The port can also collect solder directly from the solder chimney under certain conditions.